Alabama DMV Cheat Sheet
A condensed study guide for the ALEA written knowledge test — test logistics, plus the Alabama-specific rules most likely to differ from what you already know. This isn't a substitute for the official Alabama driver's manual, or for practicing the real questions. Looking for the core rules and signs that apply everywhere, not just Alabama? Check the general driving theory cheat sheet instead.
30Questions
80%To Pass
$5.00 knowledge test (cash only, no checks)Fee
- Test length varies: The Alabama knowledge test is 30 multiple-choice questions drawn from the Driver Manual, and you need 80% correct (24 of 30) to pass; this site's Alabama practice test mirrors that same 30-question length.
- Fee: The Driver Manual prints the $5.00 knowledge-test fee directly and notes checks aren't accepted; it doesn't print a separate permit-issuance fee table, directing applicants to ALEA's own published fee schedule for that instead.
- Documents required:
- Two forms of identification with at least one containing a photo (one form must be from the 'Primary Listing'), plus three forms of non-photo identification (one from the 'Primary Listing')
- Applicants transferring an out-of-state license may instead present that license, a Social Security card (or acceptable alternative), and one other Primary Listing document
- Proof of Social Security number, if not already on file with ALEA
- Proof of authorized presence in the United States for all applicants
- If you don't pass: The Driver Manual doesn't publish a specific wait time before retesting the knowledge or road test; contact your local ALEA Driver License Examining Office for current retest scheduling.
- Online testing: Eligible drivers -- including military personnel, dependents, and students temporarily out of state who have a current photo/signature on file from the last four years -- may renew by mail; most in-state renewals happen at a Driver License Examining Office, Probate Judge's Office, or License Commissioner's Office, or online at AlabamaDL.alea.gov.
Alabama-Specific Rules
Minor & Provisional Licensing
- A 15-year-old's restricted Learner License requires a supervisor 21 or older (or a certified instructor) in the seat beside the driver before the holder's 16th birthday; after that, any licensed driver qualifies. Valid four years, renewable once.
- A 16-year-old with no prior instruction can also get a Learner License -- its "Y" restriction just requires any licensed driver in the passenger seat, with no minimum age set for that supervisor.
- Moving from Learner License to a regular license requires holding the permit at least six months and passing the road test, which removes the "Y" restriction at no extra cost.
- GDL drivers who are 16 or 17 years old with a license held less than six months can't have more than one nonfamily passenger, and can't drive midnight-6 a.m. except for work, school/religious events, medical/fire/law-enforcement emergencies, or with a licensee 21 or older.
- Driving with a handheld communication device while GDL-restricted extends the restricted period and/or triggers a suspension.
- GDL restrictions don't apply once you're 18, once you're 17+ and have held a license six months or longer, or if you're 16+ and married or head of household.
- A person 14 or 15 years old may get a restricted Class M "B" license for a motor driven cycle (200 lbs or less, 150cc or smaller engine), valid four years.
- Child restraint requirements step up by age and weight: rear-facing until age 1 (20 lbs), forward-facing until age 5 (40 lbs), booster until 6, then a seat belt (required for all ages) until 15.
Licensing Procedure & Documents
- Alabama licenses come from ALEA -- the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency's Driver License Division -- a state law-enforcement agency, not a separate civilian DMV.
- The knowledge test costs $5.00, cash only; automated and oral testing are both available.
- Written exams are offered in ten foreign languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, and Vietnamese.
- A license can still be renewed without a new exam up to three years after it expires (there's also a 60-day grace period right after expiration), but the new four-year term is measured from the old expiration date, not the reissue date.
- New residents get 30 days on their old state's license before an Alabama license is required; full-time out-of-state students can keep driving on their home license indefinitely.
- Alabama's Hands-Free Law (June 2024) fines physically holding a phone while driving improperly $50/$100/$150 across three convictions in 24 months, with points added on the second and third.
- Applicants under 19 must be a high school graduate or currently enrolled (Act 93-368, with limited exclusions) to be licensed at all.
DUI & Alcohol
- The standard BAC limit is 0.08%, but it drops to 0.04% for commercial drivers and 0.02% for drivers under 21 years old or school bus/daycare drivers.
- A first DUI: $600-$2,100 fine, up to a year in jail (or both), plus a 90-day suspension.
- A second DUI within 10 years adds a mandatory minimum of 48 hours jail or 20 days community service, plus a full year's revocation.
- A third DUI means a mandatory 60 days in jail (not eligible for probation) and a three-year revocation; a fourth or later is a Class C felony carrying a five-year revocation and up to 10 years in prison.
- Implied consent means holding an Alabama license already consents to a chemical test; refusing one still costs you your license.
- Texting while driving is fined separately from hands-free violations: $25/$50/$75 across three offenses, each adding two points.
Rules of the Road
- Statutory speed limits: 30 mph urban, 35 mph unpaved road, 45 mph county paved road (unless posted), 55 mph other locations, 65 mph where posted, and 70 mph where posted on an interstate.
- The Alabama Point System suspends licenses on a sliding scale within two years, starting at 60 and climbing to 365 days depending on your point total.
- Point values vary sharply by offense: DUI and reckless driving cost 6 points each, passing a stopped school bus costs 5, but speeding 1-25 mph over the limit costs only 2.
- School buses, church buses, passenger buses, and hazmat trucks must stop 15-50 feet from the nearest rail at every railroad crossing.
- The move-over law requires vacating the lane next to a stopped emergency vehicle when safe, or slowing to at least 15 mph under the posted limit when it isn't.
- Window tint rules: only the top 6 inches of the windshield can be tinted, and passenger-car side/rear windows need at least 32% light transmission.
- Minimum liability insurance: $25,000 per person injured, $50,000 per crash for injuries, $25,000 for property damage.
- Dim your headlights within 500 feet of an oncoming car and within 200 feet of one you're following; headlights must be on from a half-hour after sunset to a half-hour before sunrise.
- A load can't extend more than 5 feet past the vehicle; anything sticking out 4 feet or more from the rear needs a red flag by day and a red light visible 200 feet at night.
- Backing up is illegal on freeways and expressways except for emergency vehicles on duty.
- No parking within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, 20 feet of an uncontrolled crosswalk, 30 feet of a stop sign/signal, or 50 feet of a railroad crossing.
Sharing the Road
- Alabama's motorcycle helmet law is fully universal -- it applies to every rider, at every age, with no adult exemption.
- Pass a bicyclist with at least three feet of clearance.
- A truck or bus's rear blind spot can stretch back as far as 200 feet -- following closely there means the driver ahead can't see you and can't help you if they brake.
- Three-point turns are off-limits on interstate freeways, curves, and near hilltops where oncoming traffic can't see you within 500 feet.
Rules and fees change — always confirm current details with ALEA before your exam. Cheat sheet v1.0, last checked 2026-08-01.